By Rich Pollack
Pets can be clever, and sometimes, no matter what you do, Fido and Fifi will find a way to spring themselves from the confines of home or yard.
Now, the Highland Beach Police Department is taking extraordinary steps to help reunite dogs on the lam with their worried families.
Recognizing that there are a lot of dogs in town — cats, too — and that escapes do occur, the department is creating a pet registration database that will enable officers to better identify dogs found wandering through neighborhoods as well as those that are injured.
To launch the database, the department is holding a pet registration event in front of Town Hall from 9 a.m. to noon on Jan. 12, and asking pet owners to bring their dogs by so they can take a photo and get some vital contact information.
The event will also feature presentations from Petsmart on the advantages of having pets microchipped as well as K-9 demonstrations and pet adoption opportunities. There also will be hot dogs and hamburgers available for visitors.
“Creating a pet database is one more way we can provide a valuable service and at the same time stay connected to our community,” said Police Chief Craig Hartmann.
Hartmann and Officer Paul Shersty, who is leading the registration initiative, said the idea for the database and registration sprang up after the department had found a few lost dogs and had difficulty locating the owners.
In the past, officers who found a lost dog or cat would do everything they could to find its home but, at the end of their shift, would have to turn an unclaimed pet over to Palm Beach County Animal Care & Control in West Palm Beach. That could mean an additional inconvenience for owners once they located their lost pets.
“We just don’t have any place to keep them here,” Hartmann said.
To minimize the chances of that happening, the department’s database will include emergency contact information and cellphone numbers, which can be important if the homeowners are away or at work when the wandering pet is found.
While the Police Department is encouraging residents to come to the Jan. 13 event, Shersty says residents who can’t make it will be able to bring their pets to the department during regular hours and get them registered.
“This is just an added protection we’re offering pet owners,” he said. Ú
For more information about the registrations, call 266-5800 or visit the town website, www.ci.highland-beach.fl.us.
Comments